Hot Hatches

The best hot hatches are quick and exciting to drive, but they also need to offer everyday practicality – and all for a reasonable price. After all, hot hatches are sometimes the only car in the household, so in addition to offering the sort of pace that puts a smile on your face, they need to be relaxing to drive on a congested school run, and refined enough to cope with the odd journey on a motorway. It’s not an easy formula to meet.

Key facts

0-60mph

6.9sec

Top speed

139mph

Fuel economy

47.9mpg

CO2 emission

138g/km

Ford Fiesta ST-2

Best buy £15,000 - £20,000

Fast Fords haven’t always been great, but the
new Ford Fiesta ST is sublime.